Aston Villa’s Ross McCormack wouldn’t come cheap for Sunderland but, then again, Preston North End will be reluctant to sell Jordan Hugill.
Reports in The Chronicle that Sunderland were preparing a shock move for Aston Villa flop Ross McCormack certainly got the fan base talking.
The Black Cats are in desperate need of a goalscorer despite the recent addition of Bury hotshot James Vaughan and few players in Championship history can match McCormack for productivity. The Scottish striker scored more than 15 league goals in five different seasons during spells at Cardiff City, Leeds United and Fulham.
McCormack was arguably the Championship’s most feared forward during his time at Leeds
On the other hand, however, he has just come off the back of the worst season of his career, one beset by injuries, personal problems and a grand total of four goals across the entire season for Villa and during a loan spell at Nottingham Forest.
Furthermore, McCormack cost Villa £12 million last summer and is on wages of £50,000-a-week, per the Northern Echo, meaning he may be out of debt-ridden Sunderland’s price range.
Local lad
Therefore, the report adds that The Black Cats have identified Preston North End frontman Jordan Hugill as a cheaper alternative.
Born in Middlesbrough, the 25-year-old is a local lad and knows Sunderland boss Simon Grayson well, having enjoying the best season of his career under the respected coach at Deepdale in 2016/17. Hugill netted 12 goals in 35 Championship starts, a decent tally though hardly one that sets the world alight.
Hugill had never hit double figures in a league season until 2016/17
It is unknown how much Sunderland would need to offer to tempt Preston into a sale but HITC reports in January that they rejected a £2 million bid from Ipswich Town suggests he won’t be given away for peanuts.
Either way, he is likely to represent less of a risk than McCormack.
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